Neil Sorensen from North West Bay Golf Club in Tasmania was formally recognised at last week's ISPS HANDA Australian Open as the National Program Deliverer of the Year for 2024.

Delivering four MyGolf programs and one Get Into Golf program every week, Sorensen has been giving up his time free of charge for nine years, and is extremely passionate about growing junior participation numbers in the area.

Sorensen's passion for engaging young people in the sport stems from his deep love of golf, and from the wide-ranging benefits of golf beyond the course.

"Young people should be given opportunities to participate in what I see as an absolutely fabulous sport," he said.

"I've been a youth worker in the past, I've been involved with youth services and I see golf as probably the ultimate training for anybody who wants to succeed in life.

"You've got to learn perseverance, you've got to have patience, you've got to have emotional control, discipline, and there's a high degree of honesty in the game.

"These all translate into just about every other form of activity in life."

Having first picked up a golf club when he was 22, Sorensen has been hooked ever since his first round, which came about after looking out onto a rain sodden Queensland course and exclaiming; "You'd have to be mad to play this game!"

"Overhearing that, the Assistant Pro challenged me to a round of golf. He said, 'I'll give you a hundred bucks if you break a hundred'," Sorensen said.

"We played a round of golf and my very first score was 106. I got hooked on it.

"The stupidity of golf is you can have an absolute disastrous round and play one good shot and you'll be back next week."

Having been an A Grade player in the past, and more recently the B Grade champion at North West Bay, Sorensen now coaches more than he plays. His Saturdays are filled with clinics, but that is just the way he likes it.

"Golf's a game for life," he said. "It's a great activity for young people to get involved, and at our club, we've had over 90-year-olds still walking nine holes playing golf. That's certainly the best testament to that.

"The other motivating factor is I love seeing the expression on people's face, whether it's an adult or a child, when they've actually hit the ball well and got a good result. It's just great to see.

"It's a terrific honour. I do what I love doing, and to be recognised for that, I am lost for words."